Over the past decade or so, Togwotee Pass between Dubois and Moran Junction in Wyoming has become a circus of wildlife paparazzi around grizzlies.
Photographers crowd to within just a few yards of the bears, and sometimes even getting into shoving matches with each other trying to get prime positioning for the best photos.
Officials say the growing mob over the bears is a disaster waiting to happen. It could be only a matter of time before somebody gets mauled by a grizzly or a semitrailer plows into people too distracted by bears to pay attention to traffic roaring by on U.S. Highway 26/287.
Grizzlies hang out in the Togwotee Pass area and are frequently visible from the highway, particularly in the spring.
One of the crowd favorites is Grizzly 863, commonly known as Felicia.
On many occasions, male grizzlies trying to court her during spring mating season have come dangerously close to crowds of people standing outside their vehicles that are haphazardly parked on the shoulders of the highway.
‘There’s Arguing, There’s Threats’
Daniel Muscatell of Jackson is among the wildlife photographers who told Cowboy State Daily that have given up on going to Togwotee Pass to see bears because the frenzy has become so ridiculous there.
He said that he’s worried about the welfare of the bears. All of that mobbing and noise from humans can’t be good for them.
Also, crowds along the shoulder make it difficult for bears to see oncoming traffic if they decide to cross the road, he said.
There’s also the threat to human safety — and not just from grizzlies, but from each other as tempers boil over, Muscatell said.
Muscatell said that over the years, he’s seen numerous instances of tempers flaring as people jostled and competed to get the best photos of grizzlies.
“There’s arguing, there’s threats,” he said.
There’s even been rumors of fistfights breaking out, although Muscatell said he's never witnessed one of those personally.
However, he said that about three years ago he was shoved by a photographer from a national publication.
Muscatell said he repeatedly tried to warn the other photographer to stay back from the bears.
“He came over and shoved me,” Muscatell said.
That was just about the final straw that led him to give up on Togwotee Pass.
“I don’t want to go up there anymore with 100 to 200 people and 100 cars,” he said.
‘Bears Are Rarely At The Pullouts’
The Wyoming Department of Transportation has set up numerous signs along the pass discouraging people from pulling off onto the narrow shoulders of the highway, agency spokesman Cody Beers told Cowboy State Daily.
Or worse, just stopping in the middle of the highway, he added.
“There are lots of pullouts up there, but the bears are rarely at the pullouts,” he said.
Beers recalled seeing terrible human behavior firsthand on Togwotee Pass a few years ago while traveling with his family.
“There were people who were just absolutely insane,” he said. "Getting 20, maybe 25 yards away from the bears, and parking right in the driving lane of the highway.
“There are also boars (male grizzlies) up there that might be trying to kill cubs so that they can move in on the sows (female bears). That can create really dangerous situations for people."
Felica’s Fan Club
Wildlife tour guide and photographer Jeffrey Soulliere told Cowboy State Daily that by his reckoning, the trouble on Togwotee Pass started about 10 years ago.
That was when Felicia started to gain fame far and wide thanks to exposure on social media, he said.
So, she became the main attraction on Togwotee Pass.
“The bear would come walking out and 80 cars would show up,” he said.
This spring, Felicia has been spotted on Togwotee Pass with two new cubs, Soulliere said.
Wildlife photographer Sylvia Borgonovo said that as much as she loves Felicia and the other bears, she has stopped going up to Togwotee Pass.
“I don’t want to be part of the problem,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “I just want to leave the animals alone.”
She said that if people insist on seeing wildlife up close, they should go to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone.
Borgonovo recommends that because it offers visitors the opportunity to see grizzlies up close under safe, controlled conditions while learning about bear and wolf biology and conservation.
‘Just Being Mean’
Wildlife photographer Deby Dixon told Cowboy State Daily that authorities have tried cracking down on stupid human tricks on Togwotee Pass, but it remains a chaotic and dangerous place for humans and bears.
“There are some who drive there recklessly on purpose because they hate the bears and the people scene, and don’t like people clogging the highway,” she said.
“Some of it understandable and some of it is just being mean,” Dixon added.
Muscatell said the situation on Togwotee Pass is a prime example of how competition for attention and social media fame can lead to stupid, dangerous behavior.
“There’s the old group of photographers, and then there’s the new groups that don’t follow the rules,” he said. “They don’t care. Nobody cares. They just want to get their bear photos."
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
